


(lukewarm) tea

by vagarius



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Day 2: Trust, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kageyama Rare Pair Week, Nightmares, basically akiteru being his brotherly self
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-06
Updated: 2016-06-06
Packaged: 2018-07-12 17:44:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7115974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vagarius/pseuds/vagarius
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There stands a boy, around Kei's age, backed by the light of the streetlights.</p>
            </blockquote>





	(lukewarm) tea

**Author's Note:**

> i know it's still day one of kageyama rare pair week (at least in my time zone), but i wrote this like right after prompts came out and i'm impatient so

When he wakes up so late that it's early and dark, Akiteru doesn't think much of it. A walk around the house, maybe a cup of tea, is all he needs to go back to sleep. It's not the first time he's woken up in the quiet of night. He supposes the weird mix of familiar-unfamiliar that presents itself when he visits home is to blame.

Akiteru pads down the stairs, avoids what he _thinks_ is the squeaky one, though most of the steps let out quiet groans under his weight, and avoiding the squeaky step ends up being a futile effort. He sighs, when he reaches the bottom, and almost doesn't hear the barely there knocks at the door over his own breathing. He blinks, tries in vain to look out the window beside the door, and sees his own tired reflection blink back. The knocking continues. He opens the door.

There stands a boy, around Kei's age, backed by the light of the streetlights. The night isn't all that cold, yet the boy shivers in his sweater. He looks up at the sound of the door, and Akiteru is reluctant to note how _vulnerable_ the boy looks, like this, staring up at him like he's lost.

"Um," Akiteru tries, then pauses, and tries again. "Can I help you?" He yawns, which isn't exactly polite, but most would be sleeping at this hour, so he assumes politeness is the least of his worries. The majority of his worries are taken up by the fact there's a random boy on his doorstep, obviously seeking comfort.

"I," the boy says, curling in on himself, "I would've gone to Hinata's, but he lives on the other side of the hill, and I didn't think I could – " The boy cuts himself off, and tilts his chin down. Stares at his shoes.

_Didn't think I could get there,_ Akiteru hears even though it isn't said, and tries to place where he's seen this boy before. "Are you one of Kei's friends?" he asks, sleepily, because it's the first thing that comes to mind.

The boy hesitates. "I guess," he mumbles. "We're teammates."

Akiteru smiles, a little soft and a little sad, and says, "If you trust him enough that he wouldn't mind you stopping by, then you must be friends, or at least something like it."

"Can I come in?" the boy asks, almost brokenly. He curls up even further. Akiteru's heart breaks a bit.

The night feels calm and content, while the boy is clearly _not,_ and who is Akiteru to refuse him? With that thought in mind, Akiteru opens the door a little wider, steps to the side. "Sure," he answers, and the boy's eyes lift in wonder. "I was about to make tea, anyway. Tastes better when you share it, don't you think?"

The boy walks in cautiously, but nods at the question, and lets Akiteru steer him to the couch to sit. He slumps into it, brings his knees to his chest. His legs are long for his body, and tuck awkwardly under his chin. Akiteru leaves him be.

Akiteru watches the kettle boil, half-asleep, and ends up startling when the kettle hisses out steam. He pours the tea into two mugs, takes both along with the kettle. There's a coffee table in front of the couch, where Akiteru sets down the tea with a _clack,_ and thanks whatever god is out there that he's the only light sleeper in the Tsukishima household.

The boy doesn't react to the noise, doesn't even pick up his mug; Akiteru has to hand it to him. His hands are surprisingly steady as he holds it.

"So," Akiteru whispers, soaking in the steam from his own mug, "It's a bit late to ask, but what's your name?"

"Kageyama Tobio," the boy – Kageyama – mutters, looking to the side.

Akiteru takes a sip of his tea before replying. "I'm Tsukishima Akiteru. Though you probably knew half of that already, considering."

Kageyama frowns, unsure what to say. He looks incredibly young. "Nice to meet you, Tsukishima-san."

"Akiteru's just fine."

A pause. "Akiteru-san."

"Well, Kageyama," Akiteru continues, conversationally, "What brings you to the wonderful Tsukishima household?"

At this, Kageyama freezes. He seems to remember that _yes,_ he came here _for a reason,_ and would rather not share. Akiteru isn't awake enough to deal with that. "C'mon, you can't just come in expecting help if you aren't gonna let me help you. At least tell me what made you walk all the way here."

Kageyama purses his lips at the notion, but soon relents. "I," he starts, vaguely, then finishes, "I had a nightmare." He doesn't leave Akiteru wondering for long, about what it could be about. "It started off like, like all the other ones, with the ball hitting the floor and the big crevice and my team on the other side, but then it was – _everyone_ was leaving, and it had to be my fault, right? It's always my fault when people leave. And everyone, everyone looked so h-happy, without me there. It's my fault that they all left, that I'm so selfish to want them all with me when they're so happy when I'm gone, and – " Kageyama stands abruptly. He's choking on his words, has been for a while now, and Akiteru feels his heart not break, but shatter. "I – I have to g-go," Kageyama stutters, and attempts to leave. Akiteru grabs him before he can.

He pulls Kageyama to his chest, holds tightly around his shoulders. Kageyama's arms are stiff at his side, yet he sobs openly into the sleeve of Akiteru's shirt. He's tall, Akiteru notes – about Tadashi's height – making him just short enough to fit his head into Akiteru's shoulder comfortably. "Shhh," Akiteru hums, as Kageyama continues to sob.

"Hey, Kageyama." Another sob. "It's not your fault, you know? No matter what you think you did, it'd never be your fault. It's not selfish to want to be around people, nor is it wrong to be sad when they happen to leave. It's human, and it means you care." Kageyama isn't calming down, stiff as ever, so Akiteru changes course. "You know, when I told you about being friends with Kei, earlier, that you trust him enough to not mind, that goes both ways. Kei doesn't tolerate just anybody. He must trust you a whole awful lot, to make you comfortable enough stopping here. I bet he's happy you stopped when you felt bad, and your other friend – Hinata? – I bet he's happy you didn't hurt yourself going over the hill and stopped here instead. He trusts you, too. I just know it."

Kageyama's sobbing lessens at the words, and he finally relaxes enough to wrap tentative arms around Akiteru's waist. Akiteru tightens his hold around his shoulders as his sobs eventually quiet. Kageyama's arms relax at his waist, and his breathing steadies, and it takes a moment for Akiteru to realize that he's fallen asleep.

He lays Kageyama down on the couch, and takes the lukewarm mugs back to the kitchen. He grabs a blanket from the hall, drapes it over Kageyama. Searching for any discomfort and finding none, Akiteru pads back up the stairs, avoiding the supposedly squeaky one. Despite feeling more awake than he did before, he falls asleep quickly. Explanations can wait until the morning.

 

Akiteru wakes up to knocking once more. Briefly, he wonders why he feels so exhausted. "Nii-chan," Kei says through Akiteru's bedroom door, rapping his knuckles against the wood, "Why is the King sleeping on our couch?"

_Right._ Akiteru feels blessed that it's Sunday, and neither Kei nor Kageyama have school. His mom must be at work already. He shuffles from under his sheets, and says, "I'll, uh, explain, just. Give me a minute." He's not even sure if Kei hears, but the knocking stops, and footsteps sound away from his bedroom and down the stairs.

Akiteru sits up, stretches. Even though the wet spot on his shirt dried out, the tears still ghost his shoulder, and Akiteru finds himself getting out of bed quicker than he usually would. He rushes down the stairs, doesn't bother with the squeaky step, doesn't stop until he reaches the arm of the couch.

Kageyama had wrapped the blanket tighter around himself, sometime during the night, his chin and the rest of his face barely peeking out. His face is still tear-stained, but his brow is soft and relaxed. His lips are slightly parted, breaths even. Akiteru smiles at the sight.

"I wasn't aware you adopted someone without my consent. One of my teammates, at that." Kei walks in, a tray with three mugs in hand, deadpan expression gracing his features. Akiteru's smile widens.

"Aw, don't be like that," Akiteru teases, "You're just trying to hide your worry. I'm pretty sure he's fine, now."

Kei frowns. "Who said I was worried," he mumbles, in a way that only further convinces Akiteru that he _is_ worried, and looks down at Kageyama on the couch. His frown lightens. "Of course he's fine. I trust you on that."

Akiteru chuckles at that, amused and flattered all the same. "I'm glad," he says, and feels his eyes crinkle at the corners.

 


End file.
